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Jüdisches Auswanderungslehrgut (Gross-Breesen, Silesia) Collection

 Collection
Identifier: AR 3686

Scope and Content Note

This collection contains materials relating to the Auswanderungslehrgut Gross-Breesen, such as a complete set of the Rundbriefe (newsletters) via which former students stayed in touch and documented their life experiences after leaving Gross-Breesen. The collection also includes a handful of additional letters that appear to have been circulated among the same group, as well as some original documents from Gross-Breesen, clippings, reunion materials, and a three-volume compilation of material that includes, among other things, typed copies of the newsletters.

Dates

  • 1935-2005

Creator

Language of Materials

This collection is in German and English.

Access Restrictions

This collection is open to researchers.

Access Information

Collection is digitized. Follow the links in the Container List to access the digitized materials.

Historical Note

In the spring of 1936, the Reichsvertretung der Juden in Deutschland formed the Jüdisches Auswanderungslehrgut (Jewish Emigration Training Farm) in Silesia. The estate, known as Gross-Breesen, was donated by a Polish Jew named Willi Rohr, and was located near Obernigk in the district of Trebnitz. The goal of the institution was to provide young Jews agricultural skills in order to ease their emigration to other countries. The program, with about 120 participants, of which approximately 30 were girls, was led by psychologist and educator Dr. Curt Bondy (1894-1972). The curriculum was a mix of agriculture, Judaism, and German culture, and emphatically (and controversially) not Zionist. After the Kristallnacht in November 1938, 118 of the program's participants managed to leave Germany, primarily to England, the Netherlands, South America, and the United States. Bonds within the group remained strong, as newsletters and reunions continued into the 2000s.

Sources: Collection and Angress, Werner T. Auswandererlehrgut Gross-Breesen. Leo Baeck Institute Yearbook (1965) 10 (1): 168-187.

Extent

1.0 Linear Feet

Abstract

This collection contains materials relating to the Auswanderungslehrgut Gross-Breesen, a Silesian training farm created in 1936 by the Reichsvertretung der Juden in Deutschland to provide young Jews agricultural skills in order to ease their emigration from Germany. The materials include a complete set of the Rundbriefe (newsletters) via which former students stayed in touch and documented their life experiences after leaving Gross-Breesen. The collection also includes a handful of additional letters that appear to have been circulated among the same group, as well as some original documents from Gross-Breesen, clippings, reunion materials, and a three-volume compilation of material that includes, among other things, typed copies of the newsletters.

Arrangement

This collection is divided into two series.

Related Material

The LBI Archives holds collections and memoirs from many who were at Gross Breesen, including Werner Angress (AR 25321), Curt Bondy (AR 4714), Ernst Cramer (AR 4218), George Landecker (AR 25300), Harvey Newton (AR 5827 and ME 986), Ingeborg Rosenbaum (AR 6749), and Gertrude Van Tijn (AR 3477).

Separated Material

A CD containing digitized photographs of Gross-Breesen was removed to the AV collection. The photos can be found here.

A copy of the book Kriegsbriefe gefallener Deutscher Juden was removed to the LBI Library. The inscription and title page were photocopied and are found in box 2, folder 10.

Processing Note

This collection is a combination of AR 3686, Jüdisches Auswanderungslehrgut (Gross-Breesen, Silesia) and AR 25294, Gross-Breesen Rundbrief Collection.

Title
Guide to the Jüdisches Auswanderungslehrgut (Gross-Breesen, Silesia) Collection, undated, 1935-2005 AR 3686
Status
Completed
Author
Processed by Kevin Schlottmann
Date
© 2012
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid is in English.
Sponsor
as part of the Leon Levy Archival Processing Initiative, made possible by the Leon Levy Foundation

Revision Statements

  • October 24, 2014 : Links to digital objects added in Container List.

Repository Details

Part of the Leo Baeck Institute Repository

Contact:
15 West 16th Street
New York NY 10011 United States